Re-usable wire bound pallet box



April 25, 1961 E. S. KORDOWSKI RE-USABLE WIRE BOUND PALLET BOX Filed April 25, 1957 INVENTOR.

RE-USABLE WIRE BOUND PALLET BOX Edward S. Kordowski, Chicago, 111., assignor to General Box Company, Des Plaines, 111., a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 25, 1957, Ser. No. 655,070

2 Claims. (Cl. 217-65) This invention relates to boxes and crates, and particularly to sectional wire bound pallet boxes and crates.-

Pallet boxes that may be used for transporting bulk loads with a lift truck are well known in the art. However, most of the pallet boxes that are presently available are cumbersome and are difiicult to assemble.

The pallet box embodying the invention may readily be assembled by simply joining the peripherally extending wires secured to the sides of the box. Once the pallet box is assembled and filled, it may be stored by stacking in a superimposed relationship on other boxes of the same type, thus requiring a minimum amount of space. One of the sides. of the box may be provided with a gate which will allow access to the interior of the box so that it may be used as a bin while stored.

Moreover, if it is desired to store the pallet box for nited States Patent O i future use, while empty, it may readily be disassembled.

The disassembled parts may then be bound up in a small compact bundle suitable for storage. In either the assembled or disassembled condition, the box may readily be stored in a minimum amount of space. Furthermore, the construction of the pallet box is such that it is not apt to be damaged by rough treatment, thus insuring a long and useful life.

An object of this invention is to provide a portable box structure that may be easily assembled or disassembled, as the case may be, and may be stored in either condition.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel box structure in the form of a plurality of sides joined I by a plurality of peripherally extending flexible members arranged to secure the sides.

A further object is to provide a box construction that will provide a compact form in the disassembled condition and which may be readily stored as such.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a boxlike structure so constructed that a plurality of them can be stacked when assembled in a superimposed relation. Each box may be provided with a gate means for permitting access to any one of the boxes so that the box may be utilized as a storage bin.

.The above and other objects will be further apparent upon reading of the description with reference to the following drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating the assembled box embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a corner construction of the box embodying the invention.

Figure 3 is an exploded view of the box showing the.

..comprised of a pallet 11, consisting of a substantially fiat platform 12, and two or more longitudinal spaced members 13. At each end of the longitudinal members 13 are the "feet 14 which support the box structure.- It

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is readily seen that such a pallet construction will allow four-way entry of the forks of a lift truck or transporter. It is to be understood that this type of pallet construction is merely by way of example and not limitation. Obviously other types, such as the type permitting two way entry, may be used in the practice of the invention as will be apparent later on.

Supported on the longitudinal members are a plurality of sides 15 (in this case 4) positioned on the base members 12 by the upwardly standing tab members 33. However, other means such as hooks, wires, steel strap, etc.,

that the corner joints of the cleats 16 form a beveled surface 17. Secured to the cleats 16 by means of staples are wires 18 bent back on themselves to form the loop 19. The ends of the wires 18 are bent at 90 to form a prong 33 which is driven into the wood to anchor the end of the wire. A staple may or may not be driven over the wire adjacent the prong to prevent it from pulling out. The loops 19 are so formed that they do not extend beyond the ends of the individual cleat. Thus the loops are not subject to damage or entanglement when the box is in the knockdown condition. A tie loop 20 may then be threaded through two adjacent loops 19 and twisted to secure the two adjoining sides 15 together. As shown in the drawing, each corner of the box may include severalof these loop constructions. It

is to be noted that when the loops 19 are pulled up tightly by the tie loop 20, they overliethe beveled surface 17 and generally conform thereto. Thus, by using a beveled corner construction, the wires at the corners are less likely to be damaged by rough handling than if the corners are not beveled.

In one side 15 there may be an opening to provide for a gate 22 which may be removed to gain access to the box 10 when stored. The gate 22 is comprised of a plurality of vertically standing slat members 25 joined near the top and bottom by the cross members 27. The slat members 25 extend beyond the cross members 27 with amount of the extension at the top 25a being some what greater than that at the bottom 25b. Intermediate the cross members 27 is a cleat 26 provided with a wire lowed to drop downwardly so thatthe extension at the bottom falls behind the cleat 24 with the cross member 27 resting thereon. The gate is now secured in all directions except for a slight vertical play to provide for assembly and disassembly of the gate. To further secure the gate, the loops 19 on the cleat 26 may be tied to loops 19 on abutting cleat members.

Referring now to Figure 2, there is shown a corner construction that may be used for assembling the box 10. The corner is comprised of the cleats 29 and 31} provided with the chamfered surfaces 31 and 32, respectively.

The cleat 29 extends to .the edge of the side 15 associated therewith and cleat 30 extends to the chamfered surface 31 on the end of cleat 29. The included angles of the charnfered surfaces are generally complementary to form a substantially smooth beveled surface generally denoted .by the numeral 17. The beveled surface. 17

eliminates the sharp corner which may cause damage to the tie wires if the box is bumped while being transported or stacked. Secured to each one of the cleats 29 and 30 is a wire 18 which has been bent back on itself to form the loop 19 and anchored at the end by the prong 33. The loops 19 do not extend beyond the ends of the cleats 29 and 30 but may overlie the beveled surfaces .31 and 32, see Fig. 4. A third wire has been looped through the loops 19 and the ends twisted together to form the tie loop 20.

Referring back to Figure 1, if it should be desired to disassemble the box, the tie loops 20 may be cut on diagonal corners so that the sides 15 of the box may be folded back on themselves and then stacked on the pallet. It is to be noted again that the wire loops 19 do not extend beyond the ends of theindividual cleat members when in the disassembled condition, eliminating any protruding ends subject to entanglement or damage. When the sides have been folded back, they may then be placed on the pallet 11 and secured by any suitable means such as a metal strap. In this way the box forms a compact bundle that may readily be stored for future use.

It can be readily seen that an inexpensive portable wire bound box has been provided that is readily adapted for use as a bin. By the novel arrangement of the wires a simple, efficient, and economical means is provided for assembling the box. At the same time this arrangement readily permits disassembly of the box so that it may be stored in the disassembled condition. Also if one of the sides should become damaged, it may be easily replaced by a new side by merely clipping the tie wires and retying them with the new side in place. It is obvious that other means for fastening the loops 19 together may be used such as clips, hooks, straps, etc.

It is apparent that certain modifications of the above invention may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A wire bound pallet box which may be readily assembled and disassembled and is designed for use in conjunction with lift type transporters and of the type that is adapted to be stacked in superimposed relation with like boxes comprising a platform adapted to rest upon a bearing surface for supporting the pallet box, a plurality of thin walled sides mounted on said platform in a vertical position and arranged in a generally rectangular fashion, the ends of each of said sides being coincident with the ends of adjacent sides, a plurality of cleat members with at least one cleat member secured to each of said sides and extending transversely thereof, said cleat members being chamfered, the ends of said cleat members abutting the ends of like cleat members on adjacent sides whereby abutting ends cooperate to form beveled corners, a wire secured to each of said cleat members, the ends of each wire being return-bent with the return-bent ends being anchored so as to form a loop at the ends of each wire, said loops terminating short of the ends of their respective cleat members and overlying the chamfered portions thereof, and a tie loop extending through both loops on respective abutting cleat members and tightly drawing the ends of said loops toward each other so that the respective sides and cleat members are held in abutting relationship, said tie loop being in touching relationship with its respective beveled corner.

2. A 'wire bound pallet box as defined in claim 1 in which said platform is further characterized as including skid members sufficiently spaced so as to permit entry of fork members of a lift truck.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain 

